Chasing Chase
by BooBar
Summary: Zoey worries when she hasn't seen or heard from Chase in a couple of days and goes out to find him...Rated T for safety :) Reviews and tips welcome!


**Soooo… I wrote this after seeing an episode of Zoey 101 for the first time in many years! I was so excited and I thought I'd write a little story with Chase and Zoey at the centre. **

**None of the characters/locations belong to me.**

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PCA was buzzing after winning another football game, thanks to Vince and the rest of the guys on the team. Kids were running around with their faces painted and even though it was now almost dark, and raining for the first time in months, the school was full of excitement and joy.

Logan, of course, was in the middle of it all trying to get as much attention as possible, but as for Chase and Michael, they were nowhere to be found. In fact, Zoey hadn't seen Chase since Thursday afternoon and now, a day and a half later, she was beginning to worry. She made her way down the corridor to her room and heard voices and laughter coming from the other side of the door.

"Hey guys. What's so funny?" She asked, entering the room, seeing Quinn and Lola holding their stomach's trying to contain their laughter.

"Quinn…Quinn…Oh it's too funny. You've gotta tell her." Lola managed to get out in between breathes and giggles.

"I put a scent on Logan's clothing which makes him smell like manure. Then I put some cream on his nose that means he can't smell it! That'll teach him for teasing me about my new science equipment." She smiled at Lola with a proud look on her face.

"Hey, Zoey? Are you okay? You seem kinda distracted." Lola asked, her expression now starting to go more natural.

"Have you guys seen Chase or Michael? I thought they'd be at the game but I haven't seen them all day."

"Oh yeah, I saw Michael earlier by the coffee cart with Lisa after the game finished. Haven't seen Chase since…I don't know, Wednesday/Thursday maybe."

"Yeah same." Quinn nodded in agreement. "You don't think he's been abducted by the opposite sides football team to get game plans out of him, do you?"

"I don't think so. What would Chase know anyway?"

"I hope he's okay. It's not like him to not talk to us for 2 days." Zoey asked as she sat on her bed hugging a cushion that was nearby.

"You mean it's not like him to not talk to _you_ for 2 days. Come on Zoey, Chase rarely talks to me or Quinn if you're around. It's so obvious he likes you." Lola replied with a grin on her face.

Ignoring the last comment, Zoey picked up her phone and threw her pillow at Lola. "I'll go and see if he's in his room." Zoey said, shutting the door behind her.

As she made her way to the guy's dorms, Zoey began to think of anything that could be wrong. She had stolen a piece of his taco on Wednesday, but that couldn't have made him go like this, he often lets her have to last bit anyways. Could Dustin have said something? Or Stacey? They had overheard Lola, Quinn and her talking about how bushy Chase's hair had become lately. Logan was his normal self which was annoying, obviously but could he have overstepped the mark this time? Her mind was filled with thoughts when she felt a rush of air go past her.

"Michael? Michael?!" She shouted as he passed her in the opposite direction.

"Oh, hey Zoey. I was just coming over to your place to look for Lisa, have you seen her? Is it still raining?"

"Yeah, it's still raining," she said holding up a soaking umbrella, "I was going to ask if you'd seen Chase?"

"I saw him briefly last night before I went to the movies with Lisa. Did you say you'd seen her?"

"Oh right, sorry, no I haven't seen her. Was he okay?"

"I don't know. He's been pretty quiet since Thursday. I thought something might've happened between you two. You know what he's like."

"Why does everyone keep saying that we like each other? We don't like each other!"

"Er, Zoey, I never said that you liked each other. I said 'you know what _he's like_'"

"Well anyway, is he in your room?" Zoey asked, looking rather embarrassed.

"Nope. I'm goin' to get some sushi. I'll text you if I see him." He said tapping her on the shoulder and stealing her umbrella out of her hands."

"Michael! Hey, I need that!" She shouted as he ran out of the door and into the rain.

For the next hour or so, Zoey sat outside Chase, Michael and Logan's room waiting for him to return. No luck. Logan had run in with a confused look on his face asking why all the girls were running away from him. Zoey could do nothing but subtly cover her nose and smile as she watched him go past her without even questioning why she was there.

'Where are you Chase?' She thought to herself after not receiving a reply from the seven texts she had sent him over the last couple of hours. She peaked outside the window in the common room to see it was still raining but she knew she couldn't stay in there forever. The PCA students had all returned to their rooms to shower or change and there was hardly anyone around, so she held her jacket closely to her and put her hood up before venturing out.

With every raindrop that hit Zoey, her desire to be in the warm was growing. Taking shelter under a large tree near the fountain she took one last chance to find Chase and rang his phone. What she heard next both relieved her and worried her as she heard his phone ringing out over the sound of the rain. She turned and ran around to the other side of the tree, hoping that she wouldn't find him injured or hurt on the floor. She saw him but he was in one piece, much to her relief. Chase. He was sitting on the edge of the fountain, staring at the ground and had obviously not been back to his room to pick up a jacket when the rain had started.

'Do I run up to him and throw him in for completely ignoring me?' She thought as she approached him. But the closer she got to him, the more she could see of him, not only were raindrops rolling down his face, but tears. 'Better scratch the idea of pushing him in.' Zoey thought to herself. Instead she took a deep breath and slowly walked towards him, thinking what the best thing to do was. She knew Chase well enough to know that if he didn't want to talk then he wouldn't until he was ready. She took a step forward and sat down next to him. They sat there, just the two of them with the whole of the outdoors to themselves and nothing but the sound of the rain to cover the sound of their thoughts.

"He died Zoey." These words made Zoey turn around as her wet hair whipped around her face.

"Who died Chase?" He sat their motionless, still staring at the ground.

"My granddad." He replied. Zoey had never really heard much about Chase's family except for his granddad. She recalled him telling stories of how he would teach Chase guitar and how to play chess and how he would always be able to talk to him about anything. She wondered if he had ever spoken to his granddad about her, about how they were really good friends and all the play fights they would have with grapes or other food. She took her right hand out of her jacket pocket and placed it on top of his left hand that was resting on his leg.

"I'm so sorry Chase, I had no idea he was even ill."

"Neither did I." He sighed. "My parents rang me Thursday night. He had cancer Zoey. He had cancer! And they didn't think to tell me!" His voice got louder and Zoey took her hand off his as he threw his head into his hands. "I mean, it's not like I never knew the guy. He was my best friend growing up. Teaching me about music and games and reading stories to me…" the tears were streaming down his face now, "And they never thought to tell me. 'We didn't want you to worry, they said! We wanted you to enjoy being at school with your friends." Zoey didn't know what to say, she just sat there, tearing up at seeing her best friend so hurt and upset. He spoke again, his voice calming after the sobs that tore through the sound of the raindrops hitting the water of the fountain. "It was just a shock, you know?"

"So that's why you've been…distant?" Zoey said turning towards him.

"I'm sorry. Zoey I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you guys or ignore the texts and calls. I just thought it'd be my parents and I really didn't wanna talk to them. I just needed to be on my own for a little bit." He wiped his hair away from his eyes and turned to Zoey.

"Hey," Zoey said taking a loose strand of hair and pushing it back, "You know we are always here for you. It doesn't matter what we go through. I mean look at that time we got trapped in that storm, or when Nichole left without any warning. And how many times Quinn has nearly killed us?" He smiled at this and the worries that were with Zoey began to fade a little.

"She has nearly killed us a few times." Chase echoed lifting his head up at Zoey and chuckling as flashbacks filled his mind.

"I'll go and get Michael and Logan and let them know you're okay." Zoey stood up, thankful to get out of the rain. Chase caught her hand and Zoey stopped mid step.

"Hey, Zo? If you don't mind, I don't really want the fuss. Can we keep it between us? I promise I'll tell them, just not now. But if you wanna stay then you can." This was Chase's not so subtle way of saying 'please stay with me; I don't want to be alone'.

"Sure, I'll be with you as long as you need me to." She said, resuming her position next to him. She leant her head on his shoulder. They had done this many times before, normally if Zoey was tired and they were relazing in the common room, or if they were in a long boring lecture. Then then Chase put his arm around her. Not on her shoulders as he normally did, but round her middle, resting his hand on the small of her back making her shiver and sending a surge of electricity through her body.

"Are you cold Zoey? It's probably not the best idea to be sitting in the rain but I kinda like the sound of it."

"Yeah a little and Michael stole by umbrella so my hair's gonna be…interesting. I probably look awful." She said with a slight giggle. He looked down at her and she responded looking back, straight into his eyes.

"You could never look awful Zoey. You're the most beautiful girl in the world." The tone in his voice was much softer than she had heard before and her smile faded as she saw the look in his eyes. She brought her hand up to rest on his cheek as her other hand ran through his hair, bringing him closer to her. She brushed her lips against his and there was no hesitation as he kissed her back, moving both of his hands wrapping her in his arms. She played with his wet hair, covering his lips with her own in a kiss full of passion and love. She couldn't believe it. She was kissing Chase Matthews, her best friend and he was such a good kisser! He felt her lips part softly and held her tighter still. The heat of the moment got to Zoey and she positioned herself so that she was now sitting on his lap, her legs either side of his waist, not once letting her lips leave his as their kiss deepened.

It was only when a clap of thunder filled the skies that they reluctantly pulled away from each other, both dripping with rain water, and shaking.

"Come on." Chase said as he lifted Zoey off his lap and ran with his hand in hers to the nearest open building which happened to be Zoey's building.

"Ha! That's a freak storm out there!" Chase said with a hint of excitement.

"How do I look?" Zoey said as she spread her arms out and lifted her leg, with a big grin on her face. In no time at all, Chase had crossed the meter or so gap between them and his hands cupped her face.

"How many times do I have to tell you you're beautiful?" He said bringing his lips to hers. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she loved how in control Chase was. Another clap of thunder followed a lightning bolt across the sky and Zoey pulled back.

"I guess we better get going. Lola and Quinn will be worried about me after my phone lost signal in the storm. She kept her arms around him, locking her fingers behind his back.

"Yeah, the guys…well they will wanna know I'm alright I guess." He said as he rubbed her shoulders, "Maybe not Logan, but Michael will." Zoey burst out laughing as she recalled her conversation with Michael earlier in the day. "What's so funny?" Chase asked, his face lit up by the sound of Zoey's laughter.

"I really embarrassed myself earlier. Michael said something about what you're like and I thought he meant that we liked each other as more than just friend and I panicked. I was confused I think. Guess I don't know my own heart, hey."

"Well, I guess you'll have some explaining to do to Lola and Quinn as well."

"Why? Did they say something about me to your face?" Zoey said with a confused look on her face, still looking into Chase's eyes.

"No, but they've kinda appeared behind that door and I think they may have been there since we ran in." He smiled as Zoey lifted a hand to her head in embarrassment.

"Oh, my Gosh. I hope they didn't see anything."

"Why not? Come on Zoey, everyone knows we should have been boyfriend and girlfriend since the day we met."

"Is that what you want?" Zoey asked

"Well, yeah. I mean if you want to. I've loved you for so long and nothing would make me happier."

"What did you just say? You love me?" Chase panicked. He tried to rewind in his head and remember his wording but whether he liked it or not, Zoey now knew his feelings and he couldn't take it back.

"Yeah, I guess I did…I guess I do. Please don't be mad Zo." He looked worried and confused as she began to laugh again. "What? What's so funny?"

"I didn't know how blind I'd been to my own feelings. I just didn't realise until you said it that I… I love you too Chase." She held his face in her hands and kissed his lips so gently that if it was a sound it would be a whisper. Their lips parted once more and she threw her arms around his neck as he lifted her up in a warm hug.

"You better go change and get some sleep; I don't want to kiss my boyfriend if he's got a cold." She smiled and he kissed her on the lips one final time.

"Thanks for always being there for me Zoey, Goodnight."

"'Goodnight, I love you. Oh and Chase – don't be mad at your parents, they're just trying to protect you." She said as she gave his hand a squeeze and watched him run from the building through the storm, turning to wave and wink at her.

Zoey turned to see that Chase was right, Lola and Quinn had indeed been hiding behind the door and had seen and heard everything. It was late now and even though tomorrow was a Sunday, Zoey wanted to get some rest and change her clothes too.

She was sure that Lola and Quinn would have some questions for her too and she knew they wanted a late night of girl talk.

The three friends walked to their room and as Zoey lay on her bed in her pyjamas with Lola and Quinn staring at her with smiles from ear to ear, she blushed and could only say "Okay, okay. I guess you were right about me and Chase."

"Well Hallelujah! She finally got it-" Shouted Lola shortly before a pillow headed her way from the direction that Zoey was in.

"I need some sleep guys, busy day you know."

"Oh we know Zoey, we know" Quinn said from on her bunk.

"Goodnight guys." Zoey said as she turned out her light.

"Goodnight, girlfriend!" Lola said with a cheeky grin and a giggle, Quinn echoing her laughter.

"Oh man, if this is just after one night, I'm never gonna get any sleep." Zoey replied. Her eyes closed and as her hands rested on the pillow she could think of nothing else but Chase. Her phone vibrated next to her several times, receiving the messages that had been blocked by the storm. There were three from Lola, two from Quinn and one from Michael letting her know Chase was back, but the only one she wanted to see was from her man himself. She looked over the letters on the screen and smiled as she read…

'_Goodnight my beautiful Zoey, can't wait to hold you in my arms again. Sweet dreams…I love you, Chase x'_

She would rest well tonight, her sleep full of dreams of her bushy haired boyfriend. How they would escape the sarcastic comments from Logan and the constant 'Aww's' from Lola and Quinn and even Michael, she didn't know. 'I'll worry about that tomorrow' she thought. Tonight, her thoughts and dreams belonged to Chase.


End file.
